In a battle of two nationally-ranked NAIA programs, it was seventh-ranked Saint Xavier that prevailed over No. 13 Lourdes 25-15, 25-22, 25-14 on Friday evening inside the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill.
 
"The put a lot more pressure on us from the baseline that we were used to," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "That really impacted our offense.  We will need to get back to work to be able to match that level."
 
Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) led Lourdes with 11 kills as the Gray Wolves hit just .082 as a team on the night. 
 
Saint Xavier (19-8) swung at a .364 clip for the match, led by 10 kills and a .533 hitting percentage from Matt Pennala. 
 
Leading 12-11 in the opening set, the Cougars closed on a 13-4 spurt, scoring the final seven points of the stanza.  Lourdes never led in set two or set three, with Saint Xavier closing the match scoring six of the final seven points.
 
Lourdes (16-9) will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Fort Wayne, Ind. to battle Indiana Tech.  The opening serve is set for 3 p.m. inside the Schaefer Center.